July 29, 2005

As you may have read in this space last week, I got
married a few weeks ago. We had a perfect ceremony on a covered bridge
in bucolic upstate New York, which was followed by a fun and lively
reception filled with the best of friends and — of course — Long Island
wines. In fact, instead of table numbers, we used Long Island winery
names and wine from each was placed on the tables.

Needless to say, our guests loved the idea and hardly a drop of wine was left at the end of the evening.

After taking a day to recoup, we hopped on a plane bound for tropical
Jamaica. We spent eight glorious days soaking up the sun (and one
dodging Hurricane Emily in our room) on the island’s southern coast.
The newly opened all-inclusive resort was beautiful and we had a great,
relaxing and romantic time snorkeling, kayaking and just lounging
around the pools.

But the food
was disappointingly mediocre and the wine…the wine was just horrid. By
the end of our trip, we couldn’t wait to get back home to get some
great food and local wines.

July 28, 2005

Online surveys are nothing new. Look most anywhere on the Internet and you're bound to find a survey of one sort or another.

And recently, blogs like Fermentations and Vinography have started using them to understand their readers better and gather non-personal information about them...all in the interest of providing you, the blog reader, with better content.

Well, LENNDEVOURS is entering the fray with its first survey, the LENNDEVOURS Reader and NY Wine Interest Survey. It is my hope that by simply asking you, my readers, what you like, dislike and would like to see more of in these pages, I can improve the site and make it the source for New York wine information.

Honey wine, better known in some circles as mead, is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in the world -- dating back thousands of years and pre-dating both beer and wine (grape wine that is).

But despite it's long history, mead remains a relative unknown among "serious" wine drinkers, often thought of as a beverage consumed solely by people at medieval reenactments and festivals. While it's true that mead is the drink of choice at such events, it's an increasingly popular choice for people living in 2005 as well.

Search the Internet, and you can find literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of mead recipes. But the basics are this: honey, water and yeast. In the same way that grape juice is fermented to make wine, honey is fermented to create mead -- with the water added to thin the honey to make it easier to drink.

This week, I had a chance to visit Long Island's only meadery, The Long Island Meadery, which is operated by Paul Holm from a small warehouse space in an industrial park in Holbrook, NY.

July 27, 2005

Merlot is often touted as Long Island’s “signature” grape — the
varietal and the wine that is going to put the region on the world wine
stage. I’m not one hundred percent sold on that notion — some of the
Cabernet Franc here is just too good — but the consistency and
ripe-ability of Merlot makes it somewhat of a safer choice.
At Le Clos Therese in Aquebogue, owner and winemaker Theresa Dilworth,
makes two interesting and decidedly different merlots with good
results. These wines, along with her cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and rose are produced at Premium Wine Group, the custom-crush winemaking
facility in Mattituck. In my experience, Dilworth always shows a deft
hand and desire to make truly hand-crafted wines.
Her recently released Comtesse Therese 2003 Hungarian Oak Merlot
($16.50) spent 14 months in Hungarian and French oak (mostly Hungarian)
and begs to be enjoyed with food. Ruby red in the glass, it has an
aromatic nose of black cherries, raspberries, black pepper and smoky
burnt sugar. Soft and spicy, with gentle tannins and a little acidity,
its smoky and peppery-sweet berry flavors accented by almost floral
notes make this a great wine for with burgers, BBQ chicken and even
pepperoni pizza. Only 130 cases were made, so make sure you pick some
up for your Labor Day BBQ.
Dilworth’s Comtesse Therese 2002 Traditional Merlot ($18) is a wine of
a totally different color — both literally and figuratively. Much
darker in the glass, the differences brought about by four extra months
in mostly French oak (with a little American thrown in) are obvious.
The nose is less peppery, but still fruit-driven with blackberries and
cherries dominating. On the palate, it’s denser and more substantial
with more, fuller tannins framing its berry flavors. The finish, while
long, offers some still-raw oak character that will likely fade with
more aging. Drink this red with more substantial red meats, like steak,
lamb or venison. 188 cases were made.
I’ve long been a fan of Dilworth’s rose, because she always avoids overuse of sulphur dioxide in the winemaking process, leading to a wine
lush with fruit flavor. The Comtesse Therese 2004 Rose ($14) continues
this tradition. While many roses are bright, Kool-Aid pink, this one is
an appealing salmony orange color. The nose is light and
straightforward, with lime and strawberry aromas. The first sip is a
little tight (this is a young wine) but with time it opens up nicely
revealing strawberry, apricot and cherry soda flavors. The acidity is
lively but not abrasive, resulting in a well-balanced summer sipper. I
think you can drink good rose with most any food, and this certainly
qualifies. 150 cases were made.
The Tasting Room, in Jamesport and in Peconic, carry these and other
Comtesse Therese wines. Visit www.tasting-room.com for more information.
For more information about Le Clos Therese and Comtesse Therese wines,
visit www.lctwinery.com or call 871-9194. Dilworth also plans to open a
small French bistro in Aquebogue. The menu will feature Long Island
wines, locally grown produce, New York State cheese and even Long
Island-brewed beers. She’s hoping to open sometime in 2006.

July 26, 2005

Sunday afternoon, Nena and I were feeling a bit restless...summer-time cabin fever really. It was a beautiful day and after spending the morning unpacking our wedding gifts and finding room for the various wine glasses, serving dishes, etc...we wanted to get out and enjoy the day.

So, we hopped in the car and headed out east to the wineries (shocking, right?)...with no particular plan in mind.

For as long as we've been visiting Long Island wine country, we've heard about the cheese shop in the region -- the Village Cheese Shop on Love Lane in Mattituck. And, until Sunday, we'd never visited.

Now, it's going to be an integral part of any trip out east.

It's a small shop, but their selection seems amazing and they even have a few tables and a small menu for them. The menu is mostly different cheese samplers, broken down by region, country, etc. But, they also have a few different fondues...something Nena was interested in and a future choice I'm sure.

On this day, we picked up their Italian sampler (complete with sliced baguette and imported olives) and a hunk of local herb-coated goat cheese from Catapano Dairy Farm. The selection of cheese was a bit overwhelming because we're fine cheese neophytes, so we took the "easy" way out this time.

Then, we headed to one of our favorite little wineries,Lieb Family Cellars, to enjoy our cheese and bread lunch with a bottle of their 2003 Pinot Blanc ($17). Almost every time we take a picnic lunch to the wineries, we stop and get a chilled bottle of this, their signature varietal.

So there we sat among the cabernet franc vines, sipping, nibbling and enjoyinga great afternoon together. At the risk of sounding like an Old Milwaukee commercial, I thought to myself several times as the wine and cheese disappeared "It doesn't get any better than this."

As we talked, Nena and I agreed that we'd both like to learn more about cheese. So that's my next project, finding some good books about cheese before our next trip to the Village Cheese Shop (631.298.8556).

July 25, 2005

Alder Yarrow, the founder of Vinography.com, the wine blog that all other wine blogs are measured against has announced that Steve Edmunds, proprietor of Edmunds St. John winery in Berkeley, CA will be joining the blog as a regular contributor.

Edmunds is an accomlished author and writer in addition to his winemaking talents and I know I look forward to reading his contributions. Alder is very tough on wine writers and for him to say about Edmunds:

"The first time I read Steve’s writing on wine, I knew I had met a
kindred spirit. He writes
with a passion and a clarity that is so rare in the wine world. Even if you know
nothing about wine, reading Steve’s work brings you close to the magic and the
mystery that motivate winemakers and wine drinkers alike.”

High praise indeed. And, I learned of this via a press release straight from Alder...a trend I hope other wine and food bloggers take note of.

Over the next few days/weeks, I'll be not only changing the "look" of LENNDEVOURS, but also changing how it is organized as well. That will include the addition of some new categories, consolidation of others and revamping of what appears in the right and left columns.

Hopefully I'll be able to do it such that the site remains useful and fun for my readers.

And, I'd also like to thank a day-job friend of mine for designing my new logo. He's a recent graduate of a local visual communications program and a damn good coder to boot. Now if I could only get him hooked one wine (beyond dessert wines). Thanks Brian.

The agenda isn't set yet, but we'll be talking about how we got into blogging, why and how it has helped us snare some "real" writing gigs. Derrick met The Center's director Louisa Thomas Hargrave at a wine writer's symposium in the spring and I've talked to her on several occasions locally...so this session brings the three of us together.

It promises to be a fun evening, which will include food and wine pairings as well. And, I'm looking forward to meeting Derrick and his wife, Melissa, as well as introducing them Long Island wines during their visit.

For more information and to sign up, call Ginny Clancy at (631) 632-9404. I hope to see some of you there.

Well, after a beautiful and fun wedding and reception, followed by ten beautiful days in southern Jamaica (well, nine...Hurricane Emily cost us one day), Mr. and Mrs. LENNDEVOURS have returned to the friendly confines of our beach bungalow on Long Island.

It's good to be back...but we already miss the sunsets from our balcony (here's one picture, but more will be posted as I dig out at work).

I'm going to write a full review of Sandals Whitehouse in the next few days, but here's some quick comments:

The resort and surrounding area is beautiful

The wine was horrid...from the "house" stuff to the "managers reserve list"

We drank a lot of rum instead...and Red Stripe

The local-style food was the best of the bunch, including beef patties and jerk pork

The one wine that we found palatable, as a summer slurper, was a Chilean blend of chardonnay and sauvignon blanc (and my first taste of a 2005 vintage). Made by Carta Vieja, it was medium-bodied and a little flabby (I think more sauvignon blanc in the blend would have helped) but easy to drink when ice cold with pleasant fruitiness. I didn't take official notes...so there you have it.

It's good to be back. Thanks to all of you for your good wishes and congratulations. One of the best and most amazing things about blogging is the friendships you can develop without ever meeting people.

Thanks to one Long Island wine veteran and one of the region’s rising
stars (not to mention a personal favorite), visitors to the South Fork
can get a taste of the North Fork without taking the ferry or driving
around Peconic Bay.

Ray Blum, founder of Peconic Bay Vineyards in 1979 (now Peconic Bay
Winery under new ownership) and owner of Ackerly Pond Vineyards, and
Jim Waters of Waters Crest Winery have teamed up to open the Hamptons
Wine Boutique, located at 118 Main Street in Westhampton Beach.

And, to help promote the local wine industry, and differentiate
themselves as more than just another wine shop, Blum and Waters are
only selling Long Island wine – from eight of the region’s best
producers. Currently wines are available from Castello di Borghese,
Waters Crest Winery, Ackerly Pond Vineyards, Sherwood House Vineyards,
Cutchogue Cellars and Schneider Vineyards from the North Fork, Red Fern
Cellars (the Island’s sole Kosher winery) in Queens and Wolffer Estate
in Sagaponack

They are also selling locally made furniture, gifts and gourmet foods
as well as prints and paintings by artist Doug Reina.

I haven’t had a chance to visit the store yet, but I did recently taste
a couple of Blum’s wines, and while they aren’t going to unseat the
Island’s best, they are good and food-friendly.

The Ackerly Pond Vineyards 2003 Chardonnay ($16) is a medium-to-light
yellow and crystal clear in the glass. After a quick swirl, the nose
offers fruity pear and tropical aromas with hints of vanilla custard.
Flavors range from pear to pineapple and vanilla cream. This is a
fresh, refreshing wine with good acidity for balance. A great food
wine, I’d serve it with salmon or lobster dishes or as an aperitif.
It’s not a great value at 16 bucks, but not preposterously over-priced
either.

A Silver Medal winner at the 2005 Finger Lakes International Wine
Competition, the Ackerly Pond Vineyards Cabernet Franc ($19) is a
relatively low tannin wine that offers a light nose of black fruit,
cedar and a little smoke. Medium-bodied and somewhat rustic, its palate
is filled with spicy plum and blackberry fruit flavors and smoky oak. I
found the brief finish disappointing and a little tart-sour. I’d
probably not drink it without food, so sip alongside grilled meat
dishes.

Ackerly Pond Vineyards also makes a rosé made with Pinot Noir grapes
and the mandatory Long Island Merlot, and all of Blum’s wines are
bottled using synthetic corks.

If you find yourself in Westhampton this summer, check out the Hamptons
Wine Boutique. It’s the best way to get a taste of Waters Crest
Winery’s Riesling and Gewüürztraminer, Sherwood House Vineyards
Chardonnay and the only kosher wines made with Long Island Grapes –
without spending a day driving.

July 10, 2005

It's hard to believe that Wine Blogging Wednesday has taken off the way it has. What started as an idea that I thought would appeal mostly to the blogosphere's wine geeks has grown and pulled in some of the best food blogs and made wine mini-geeks out of wine neophytes.

Now, a year later, it's time for Wine Blogging Wednesday #12...and I'm taking the reins back as host (mostly because there was a scheduling snafu and I was left with an empty slot!).

We've visited many lands and sampled many varietals in WBW's brief history...so for the one-year anniversary edition, I thought it would be great to stay close to home -- as close to home as possible.

On Wednesday, August 10th I ask only that you Drink Local. Real Local.

This time around...there's only one rule: Drink a wine from the winery nearest to your apartment/house/shack/bungalow/flat/tent. Wine is being made in every state and just about every country so it's time that the "eat local" movement be extended to vino for WBW.

So, figure out what winery is closest to you, pick up some wine and join us August 10th.

I realize that some of you might have negative attitudes about your local wines if you're not in a "prime" region...but that's part of why I'm asking you to drink local. Put aside your pre-conceived notions and try those local wines again. I think you'll be surprised by at least one.

And NO CHEATING. If I have to, I'll fact check on each and every one of your entries.

July 06, 2005

You see, Nena and I are getting married Friday...and I'm heading to upstate NY in about an hour to begin the festivities. Part of my family arrives tonight with the rest coming tomorrow...just in time for the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner at the George Mann Tory Tavern. Then, after getting married on a covered bridge in Nena's hometown, we'll be whisked away to the Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia, NY for our reception.

And, after a casual BBQ on Saturday for our out-of-town friends and family, we'll drive home to Long Island, just in time to be picked up at 3 a.m. to catch our flight from LaGuardia to Jamaica for ten days of relaxation.

I will be popping in over the weekend long enough to announce Wine Blogging Wednesday #12...because I'm hosting. I think many of you will enjoy my theme...stay tuned.

They are billing it as "A lavish tasting party featuring Champagne Charles Heidsieck and Wölffer Estate Vineyard wines with a sumptuous silent auction."

Tickets are $150 for members of the foundation and $200 for guests. Or, if you're a real high roller, pay $5,000 and get a private table for ten.

The list of participating chefs is impressive and Michael Romano, executive chef/partner of New York’s venerated Union Square Cafe will be honored at the event. Wölffer Estate is one of the most beautiful spots on Long Island...so it promises to be a grand party.

Two things about my entry into this vintage of the global wine blogging festival will come as no surprise. First, I chose a riesling, my favorite of white varieties. And, I chose one from New York.

But, instead of staying close to home with a wine from Long Island, I looked a bit further west to the Finger Lakes Wine Region. They've been getting a lot of press lately (in Decanter, Wine Spectator etc.) and decided to check in on them.

Chateau Lafayette Reneau is located in Hector, NY on Seneca Lake and has garnered significant praise for its wines, which include pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, riesling, chardonnay and a late harvest riesling. I'll be interviewing the owner, Dick Reno and the winemaker, Tim Miller later this summer, so keep an eye out here for more information.

The tasting and technical information I was able to dig up on this wine is a little lacking, but they describe the wine as:

A refreshing peach nose and honeysuckle with delicate itrus fruit flavors that dance in the mouth. The lingering spicy pear finish and lively texture reveals an abundance of Riesling character. The reason fish were created.

(Note: this picture is from their website. Nena has our camera in upstate NY.)

By the way, in August I'm doing a blind tasting all the Finger Lakes rieslings I can get my hands on (two tastings actually, one for dry versions and one for off-dry versions). If anyone is interested in joining me...let me know.

Tongue: It's definitely off-dry (more like semi-sweet actually) but its acidity is lively and crisp, balancing the wine nicely. It's simple, with pear flavors sandwiched between the sugar and the acidity. The finish had a slightly off-putting tartness that bordered on sourness.

Price: $12

Lenn's Grade: B-Overall: A simple, gulpable riesling and I'm really not sure it's the reason "fish were created." They also make a dry riesling, and I hope to try that one soon as well. As for this one, it would have scored a B if not for the finish.

July 03, 2005

Long Island Whine: Are LI Wines Really Over-Priced? Or are We Looking at Them From the Wrong Perspective?

Just like the wines we drink, any discussion of wine prices and
price-to-value ratios is always a complex and layered one. There are
dozens of factors that help a winery’s management decide what to charge
for its wines, including land costs, labor costs, market pressures, and
supply and demand. The list goes on and on. The idea of “value” is even
tougher to pin down as it’s so subjective and affected by things like
the media, mood and personal perception.

So before we can even tackle the question, “Is Long Island wine
over-priced?” there are a few points that need to be made.

First, wine on Long Island varies from winery to winery and year to
year. Richard Olsen-Harbich, managing director and winemaker at Raphael
in Peconic, said it best in an email to me last week. “As in most areas
producing wine, you have good value, you have great wines and you also
have poor value and bad wines -- and because we are not that large a
(wine-producing) area, it gets magnified.” Rich went on to say that he
doesn’t even like talking about Long Island wine in general terms.

Next, when I contacted several winemakers and winery managers in the
area, I found that very few customers actually complain about wine
prices in winery tasting rooms themselves. “Interestingly enough,"
Olsen-Harbich noted, "the tasting room provides an overall wine
experience that people are typically very satisfied with. The biggest
complaints we hear are that we don’t have enough white wine – or that
our wine isn’t sweet enough.”

Wine that isn’t 'sweet' enough is a topic for another time, but the
“overall wine experience” point is very important. I personally am
willing to pay more for a bottle of wine if the setting, the friends
I’m with and the overall experience is memorable.

So now we know that we can’t generalize about Long Island wines and
that people rarely complain about the prices in tasting rooms (even
though they are almost always higher than at local wine shops). But
people do complain about L.I. wine prices – just not in tasting rooms.

Contrary to popular belief (okay, maybe just in my own
wine-induced fantasies), I don’t own Lenz Winery in Peconic. That would
be Lenn’s Winery anyway, even if the “z” would be a much more MTV-esque
spelling.

Lenz Winery is one of the North Fork’s most respected producers and
employs one of the regions most gifted and charismatic winemakers –
Eric Fry. If you’re at the Lenz tasting room and see a guy in overalls
with a long ponytail and beard, that’s Eric. Say hello and, if you’re
lucky, as my fiancé Nena and I have been, you’ll spend an afternoon
talking about and tasting different vintages of sparkling wine.

I’ve written several times before about Fry’s spectacular sparklers, so
we’ll not uncork that topic today. But know that Fry has a hand in much
of the Island’s best bubbly – both at Lenz and at the other wineries
that hire him to make their sparkling wines.

Last week, I had the pleasurable opportunity to sample several of Lenz
Winery’s current releases, and Fry’s ample talent shines through in
each.

Power. Grace. Complexity. These words, often used to
describe our favorite wines, are also used to depict the nuances and
wonders of great music. Standing alone, wine and music are two of
life’s great pleasures, but blend the two and you have an event and
experience with few peers.

Last Sunday night Wölffer Estate
Vineyard in Sagaponack hosted just such an event: “Salon at Wölffer
Estate – A Romantic Liederabend to Benefit the Music Festival of the
Hamptons.” Those in attendance enjoyed glasses of Wölffer’s
award-winning wines as Katya Sonina, an extremely talented pianist and
student at Julliard, played selections from Rachmaninoff, Mozart,
Chopin and Scriabin. And as if that weren’t enough, Wölffer Estate’s
very own Roman Roth, known throughout the region for his considerable
winemaking talents, shared yet another gift with the crowd, his
wonderful tenor voice, as he sang six Schubert songs.

While there probably aren’t many other singing winemakers on Long
Island (outside of their showers, anyway), many wineries understand and
embrace how live music can enhance the wine tasting experience. And,
with a variety of winery music options available – from classical to
jazz to folk music – there’s something virtually for everyone.

For some wineries, including Jamesport Vineyards, Peconic Bay Winery,
Palmer Vineyards, Osprey’s Dominion Winery and Martha Clara Vineyards,
live music is an every weekend or nearly every weekend occurrence, with
local soloists and bands performing every Saturday and Sunday, usually
outside near the vines. Visitors can bring a picnic lunch, buy some
wine and enjoy the show.

Other wineries, however, go well beyond weekly vine-side entertainment.
Below are some summer music highlights in Long Island wine country.

Garagiste, translated from the French, means “garage owner,” not
something usually associated with wine country. But it’s a term often
used in regions like Bordeaux to describe a winemaker who produces
small lots of high-quality, handcrafted wines – sometimes right in his
or her own garage.

Harold Watts, Ternhaven Cellars’ owner and winemaker, also started out
at home, but instead of making wine in his garage, Watts made wine in
his Manhattan apartment. Today, with an unintentional though amusing
nod to the European description, Watts literally is a garagiste: his
winery and tasting room are in a renovated service station, a former
garage, on Front Street in Greenport.

In 1994, Watts, a retired economics professor who taught at Yale and
Columbia Universities, bought five acres of land on Alvah’s Lane in
Cutchogue. He initially leased the land a local potato farmer but
eventually planted merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc grapes
himself. In 1997, Ternhaven Cellars was born when Watts’ tasting room
opened.

When asked about the origins of his winery’s name, Watts replied with a
chuckle. “I enjoy watching terns at work catching fish here on the East
End. I know they nest around here, and the name sounds sort of warm and
fuzzy and maybe a bit ‘green.’ So I just grabbed it out of the air and
it ‘terned’ out to be registerable.”

While his winery and production levels are small, fewer than 1000 cases
per year, Watts’ wines are not. Last summer, at the New York Wine &
Food Classic, he won a double gold for his 2000 Merlot, a silver for
his 2000 Claret D’Alvah and a second silver for his 2000 Cabernet
Sauvignon.